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“Die, you fucker. Lucia. Get out. Now!”
Just as I was determined to finish him off with my gun, his arms flopped away, light slipping from his eyes. I’d loved him like a real brother, trying to keep him from the brutal world, but I should have known there was no escaping the lure of the syndicate.
Tumbling backward, I raced toward her, voices booming from yards away.
“Help me,” she said, just as I’d begged her long ago. “They can’t die.” Her coughs were ragged yet she managed to pull out of my hold.
“Goddamn it.” I moved with her, fighting to open every gate, directing the horses to safety. Seconds later, help arrived even as the building began to collapse around us. Seconds seemed like hours, the building heat suffocating.
When she disappeared into the darkness, the crack of another timber just over her head forced me into action. I threw myself over her, the force rolling us several feet. The timber crashed and within seconds, I had her in my arms, racing from the barn.
“No. No!” she yelled.
“It’s okay, baby.”
“They’re all out!” Lorenzo called.
“Get the men out. All of them. There will be no more bloodshed tonight.”
As the soldiers piled out, keeping the horses going in the right direction, I pulled her against my chest.
Lucia clung to me, gasping for air, sobbing uncontrollably. I allowed my mind to drift to the nightmare one last time.
Ashes floated around us, fiery sparks that for so long meant death. On this night, with her in my arms, it meant rebirth.
Perhaps a bad man like me could have salvation after all.
CHAPTER27
Two months later
D’Artagnan
I’d heard it said that Italy was one of the most beautiful places on Earth. On a cloudless day, the deep blue of the sky seemed surreal. As Raphaelo opened the door of the SUV, I took a deep breath. The next hour would be about pomp and circumstance, politics and alliances. Everything I hated.
“You look incredibly handsome,” Lucia said as she lifted her sunglasses, giving me a hard onceover. The mischief in her eyes had returned, her playfulness keeping us grounded. So much had occurred in sixty short days, including reestablishing every form of business while combining two empires, which had proven more difficult than I’d imagined.
We’d had fallout, some customers dropping off, but I’d had calls of respect from various mafia leaders. Oddly enough, all from other countries.
The Bratva were unceremoniously quiet, which kept me on edge, but they would be handled if necessary.
Neither the death of Franco DeLuca nor Roberto Lazarro had rocked theFamigliasto any degree. It was expected that with all five Dons being close to the same age, deaths from old age, heart attacks, or assassinations would begin to occur. What had disturbed the flow of business causing significant concern was our marriage.
While a few sharks had dared try to capture portions of the newly combined territory, they’d quickly been handled. That had further fueled my power, the news making it all the way to the Russians. However, it was only a matter of time until the Volkovs returned, wolves hungry to tear apart our union. That meant establishing a strong connection with the remaining Five Families was necessary.
“I don’t care about handsome. I only care about powerful.”
She laughed, which immediately forced my cock to twitch. “You look like a brutal mafia Don. And I certainly care about whether you’re handsome or not.” As she fixed my tie, she kept a sly smile on her face. “You are a man I’m currently sleeping with.”
“You mean the only man.” I gripped her chin, breathing in her luscious fragrance. “Don’t you forget that.”
“I doubt you’ll allow me to forget.”
Chuckling, I shook my head. “I shouldn’t be long. There’s a chance I’ll need you. After that, I might have a surprise.”
“A surprise, huh?”
“Perhaps.” I lifted my index finger. “If you’re a good girl while I’m gone.”
